GMA order to benefit 30,000 war veterans

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Undersecretary for Veterans Affairs Ernesto Carolina has welcomed President Arroyo’s directive to release funds for World War II veterans, saying it will benefit 30,000 of them.

“This is good news for our veterans. They have been fighting for this. The funds will be used for their total administrative disability pension,” Carolina told The STAR in a phone interview.

Last Friday, President Arroyo ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Philippine Veterans’ Administration Office (PVAO) to release P1.2 billion to pay Filipino war veterans.  

Carolina said the government owes the veterans the pension since Republic Act 7696 was enacted into law in 1994. A provision of the law entitling veterans to total administrative disability pension has not been enforced due to lack of state funds.

“The disbursement of the funds will give justice to the sacrifices of our war heroes and our veterans,” Carolina said.

He said the military service board, which was reconvened last month, will also expedite the reviewing of claims by war veterans.

“The service board will hasten the reviewing of claims so our veterans can immediately enjoy their benefits,” Carolina said.

Last month, President Arroyo signed into law Republic Act 9828 which formed a board that would assess the pending applications of those who claim to have performed military service from Dec. 8, 1941 to July 3, 1946.

The military service board shall fold up three years after the law took effect or until all applications have been processed, but will not be extended beyond five years.

The board, headed by retired general Fortunato Abat, will review around 106,000 applications that were not processed by the two previous boards that folded up in 2001 and 2004.

Qualified veterans will receive back pay ranging from P700,000 to P800,000 and a monthly pension of P5,000.